Motor-vehicle



A. e. VAIR.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED,DEC.31. 19!?- 1,349,743. 7 Patented Au 17; 1920.

INVENT-OR ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER G. VAIR, OF RAVENNA, OHIO.

MOTOR-VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented A11 17, 1920;

Application filed December 31, 1917. Serial No. 209,809.

hicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to automobiles, and particularly to steam automobiles.

' It is an object of my invention to provide a system by which the exhaust steam of a steam automobile may be rapidly condensed in whatever quantity the same may be produced, and to produce means, the condensing action of which increases as the load on the engine increases irrespective of the speed at which theautomobile is traveling.

In steam automobiles, as heretofore produced, the condensing action has been de pendent on the amount of air passing through the condenser produced by the movement of the car, consequently all the exhaust steam has not been condensed when the load on the engine is great and the auto mobile is running at slow speed, but by my invention this defect and serious objection may be entirely overcome.

My invention will be better understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the illustration of theinvention as shown in the drawings and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an automobile chassis embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawings, 1 is a frame, 2 is a rear wheel and 3 are the front wheels. The engine 4. is mounted so as to connect directly with the rear axle 5. 6 is a boiler in which the steam is generated and 7 is a pipe for conducting the steam from the boiler to the engine 4. 8 is an exhaust pipe leading from the engine to the condenser 9. The condensed water is returned from the condenser 9 by means of the pipe 10 to a reservoir 11, fromwhich it may be again taken to the boiler 6 and converted into steam.

Located in the exhaust pipe or passage 8 is a motor 12 which may be of an suitable construction, preferabl of the tur ine type. Directly connected to the shaft of the motor is a'fan 13 just back of the condenser and arranged when revolved b the motor 12 to draw air through the con enser.

In steam automobiles, as heretofore arranged, it was necessaryeither tocarry a large water reservoir, which obviously is very cumbersome and objectionable, or if a smaller reservoir were used, it was neces- *sary to fill the same so frequently that it likewise, was quite unsatisfactory. It has not heretofore been possible to completely condense the amount of exhaust steam that is present whenthe engine is running slowly under a heavy load; consequently, steam is Wasted, heat energy is lost, and alcohol is also lost when used with water in cold weather to prevent freezing. In some cases the exhaust was direct to the air, in which case frequent renewals of water were, or a large reservoir was, necessary.

By my arrangement one factor of the con- 'densation depends directly upon the amount of exhaust steam, or the condensing power of the apparatus is dependent upon the amount of exhaust steam produced; consequently, the automobile might be running rapidly under light load, and the condensing apparatus, particularly the fan 13 might be operating at comparatively slow speed, likewise the automobile might be running at a very slowspeed when the engine is under heavy load and the fan at a very high speed because of the large amount of exhaust steam then being produced. It will be seen, therefore, that the condensing factor is dependent not upon the speed of the automobile but upon the amount of exhaust steam produced.

This arrangement has many advantages over a fan driven from a moving part of the automobile in that in my arrangement it is independent of the automobile speed but dependent upon theamount of exhaust steam. Furthermore, in order that the condenser might be located at the front of the car, as is the logical place for it, it would be necessary to run some special transmission device from the rear of the automobile to the fan, whereas by my arrangement no such corfigilic'ation is necessary.

y arrangement is applicable to all kinds of steam automobiles but would have a particular advantage in the case of large trucks which travel at comparatively low speed. It is also applicable to any apparatus on whiph this type of power plant might be use My invention is not to be understood as being limited to the exact embodiments v shown in the accompanying drawings as many modifications might be made in the different devices or various parts used and I wish it to be understood that my invention is limited only by the claims appended hereto.

Having .described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters A Patent is ing the condensate from the condenser to the Water reservoir.

2. In an automobile, the combination of a boiler, an engine for propelling the vehicle, a condenser near the front of the vehicle, an exhaust passage leading from the engine to the condenser, a fan for cooling the said condenser and located behind the same, a motor for driving said fan, said motor being driven by the steam passing through said exhaust passage and at a speed proportional to the load on the engine, and means for returning the condensate from the condenser to the boiler.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

A. G. VAIR. 

